Beer is known to be the world’s most widely consumed alcoholic beverage. It’s so popular that it ranks third in the list of the most popular drinks of all time, right after water and tea. People throughout the world celebrate special occasions with beer more than they do with wine!

The oldest known recipe for beer was from the Summerians, created almost 4,000 years ago. The process of beer making in its simplest form is taking malted barley and soaking it in hot water in order to release the malt sugars. Next, the malt sugar solution is mixed in with Hops and everything is brought to a boil. Once it cools, yeast is added in order to begin fermentation. As the yeast ferments the sugars, CO2 and Ethyl alcohol are released, and there in front of you lies your labor of love.

            Here are 10 awesome facts you need to know about beer. Enjoy!

Fact 1: Back in 1844, nearly 388,000 gallons of beer (that’s 1.4 ml for scale) flooded the streets of London because one of the monstrous vats that belonged to a parish in St. Giles had ruptured!

Fact 2: George Washington loved beer so much that he had his own brew house. You can find it on the grounds of Mount Vernon.

Fact 3: Whether this is the good thing or not, you be the judge: back in the day Egyptian pyramid workers weren’t paid with money for all their strenuous work. Instead, they were paid with beer! 1 gallon of beer a day. That’s 4 liters of beer for a long day’s work. And if you thought that was cool and wished the practice carried on till today, then you’re in for a treat. Just chart a flight to Amsterdam and you’ll find yourself paid in 10 Euros, a packet of tobacco, and 5 beers for cleaning the city! Alcoholics rejoice!

Fact 4: the oldest recipe for beer to ever be discovered came from the Summerians. It dates back to almost 4,000 years!

Fact 5: Perhaps there’s a reason why the buzz we get from drinking too much beer is similar to the high we get from taking a drag off a joint. This is because beer and marijuana are cousins, and we can find the very same hops that are used to make beer in the same flowering plant of marijuana.

Fact 6: People from the middle ages actually drank more beer than water! Alcohol consumption throughout the entire period was so high because clean drinking water was scarce, and the alcohol inside the beer made it safer to drink.

Fact 7: Itching for a challenge? If want to take a break from all the regular brews and take on something stronger and more challenging, then Brewmeister’s legendary “Snake Venom” brew is for you. While beers usually contain 5% ABV, this bad boy has a wicked 67.5% ABV! The deadly Scottish brew is so powerful; the label on the bottle has “strongest beer in the world on it”, and warns you not to consume it all in one sitting.

Fact 8: Right now, at this very moment, 50 million people are drunk. At any given moment, 0.7% of the world is having an alcoholic beverage! But I guess that isn’t so bad, as drinking beer claims to have positive effects. Beer is said to aid in the prevention of cardiac disease and cognitive decline! But wait, there’s more: the high levels of silicon in beer increase calcium deposits and good minerals for your bone tissue. Beer makes your bones stronger! Is there anything beer can’t do?

Fact 9: If you love beer so much and see yourself immersing yourself in its study, then you might want to consider taking up Zythology 101. That’s right, Zythology is the actual study of beer and beer making! It comes from the Greek word for beer, “zythos”, and study, “logos”.

Fact 10: There is a Wife Carrying competition in Finland that’s held every year. The grand prize? Your wife’s weight in beer!